The Cullinan Diamonds

The Cullinan Diamonds

Let’s talk about the Cullinan diamonds. The uncut stone was arguably the most famous diamond find in the history of the world, and to this day it remains the biggest rough gem-quality diamond ever discovered.

The original Cullinan diamond was discovered by a miner, Thomas Evan Powell, at the Premier Diamond mine in Cullinan, South Africa on January 26th, 1905. As a rough stone, it was 3,106 (!) carats. The government of South Africa decided to send it as a gift to King Edward VII in England.

Cullinan Diamond Rough Size

Cullinan Diamonds I – IX

This rough stone was split into 9 large diamonds, Cullinan I (530 carats), II (317 carats), III (94 carats), IV (64 carats), V (19 carats), VI (9 carats), VII (12 carats), VIII (7 carats), and IX (4 carats), as well as 96 other smaller diamonds. Cullinan I and II are a part of the British Crown Jewels.